Backwards is the new forwards

We've talked before on this blog about how new trends such as authenticity, real customer service and uniqueness seem to be leading the way in the fight for, not just survival, but success.

Indications of those trends have been evident for a while but in the past couple of weeks some of the big names on the high street have started to show the physical reality.

According to my favourite trend watching website, Springwise.com, the Body Shop are bringing back some of their discontinued lines. On its own that might not sound like a huge deal but the reason why is what's interesting. It seems the company, now owned by L'Oreal, have really been listening to their customers. Instead of constantly pushing to make the next new discovery or launch a new, supposedly, ground breaking product, they appear to have asked for feedback from their customers and actually responded to them.

On an even bigger scale it seems that coffee giant Starbucks are rethinking their strategy too. The move was reported in a feature in the Guardian newspaper, which explained that the drastic new moves are being instigated by Howard Schultz who after 8 years as company Chairman has stepped back into the role as CEO.

Schutlz was of course the man who took Starbucks from a small chain of just three stores to the commercial giant it became. Originally the chain was based on his love of coffee making and providing people with a "third space" in which to meet, socialise and relax and that is what made it so successful. But, it seems the rapid growth of the company has resulted in some of those characteristics getting lost in the process which, combined with a dramatic decline in same store sales in the US , led to Schultz's return to the front line.

Starbucks is now concentrating on recreating the individual community based stores that they started with. Brand extensions such as a Music Production Business have been cut so that more energy can be put into the coffee shops. According to Schultz the new strategy returns the emphasis to the relationship the company wants to have with its customers which is more about local community that mass commercialisation. For a company that encountered a huge backlash as it took over the high street and put many smaller independent coffee shops out of business it seems like a smart move and it's working with reports of same store growth for the sixth month in a row in December.

Both examples show that sometimes surging forward in the quest for newer more profitable ways of working are not always the key to success. Sometimes its the experience they have and the values they share with you as the retailer that are more important than price or innovation.

The lesson - listen to your customers and don't be too quick to dismiss what made you unique in the race for profit.

Read the Springwise report on Body Shop by clicking here

Read the Howard Schultz article in the Guardian by clicking here